The HUKD DE shaving thread
Are there any DE shavers on HUKD?
Is anyone curious about DE shaving?
I thought HUKD should have its own DE thread. Post anything you think could be helpful to your fellow DE shavers here.
Feel free to post pics or a description of your collection. Or any questions you have about DE shaving.
So the thread as involved quite a bit since I first posted and an update is well overdue. Thank you to everyone who has contributed.
I will try to collate some of the useful information that has been posted in the thread that will be useful for those new to DE shaving and experienced shavers alike. If anyone feels I have missed anything or would like to add anything please let me know. It will only take me another 8 months to edit it again
I would like to start DE shaving what razor should I get?
The wide consensus is with either the Merkur 34c or Edwin Jagger DE89L, both are well regarded but the DE89L is a bit cheaper than the Merkur. There are many cheaper options such as the Lord L6 or Boots own brand but trust us, buying quality pays dividends when it comes to DE shaving
What brush should I buy and do I need one?
Yes, using a brush and cream will greatly improve your shave. Even if you are happy with multi blade cartridge razors (which is fine) I urge you to consider changing to a brush and cream.
On the thread we like the Vulfix 404 it can be found on Amazon for £12.60 delivered but pops in and out of stock.
What Cream/Soap should I buy?
Very much a personal choice. I would start with cheaper brands before diving right in and going for Castle Forbes (£20 a tub).
Again in the thread we like Proraso and Taylor of Old Bond Street.
What blades should I start with?
There is no correct answer to this, people's experience of blades varies significantly and the same blade can work differently in different razors. The best place to start is buying a blade sample pack to try and find which blade works best for you in your razor.
I want to get in to DE shaving but it seems very expensive, how can I do it as cheaply as possible?
Well Jet Pac has helpfully posted his recommendations which are as follows
So the current recommended new DE shavers kit
(Cheap enough but decent quality and likely to be keepers)
Razor:
Merkur 45c Bakelite - £18 Delivered
Edwin Jagger DE89 - £20.80 Delivered - Full metal option rather than plastic
Merkur 34C - ~£30 A slightly more expensive Full metal razor, heavy and truly excellent
For the super cheap option pick up a Gillette Tech razor on eBay for ~£5-£8 and that will do fine also.
Brush:
Vulfix 404 - £12.60 Delivered
Blades:
Astra Superior Platinum - ~£8 (100 blades, that is roughly 300 shavesworth) Delivered
Soap:
Proraso - £5.10 Delivered (if bought at the same time as the razor at Connaught)
Taylor of Old Bond Street (TOBS) - Various scents - £7.00 Delivered
Palmolive cream and soap (Cheap option) ~ £0.50p - £1.50 from supermarkets or Wilkinsons.
Non-essential but useful or recommended (Links to product that people enjoy, maybe not best price):
please see comment 1207 for links. If people could Like it so it comes to the top of the thread that would be great. All so see comments 256, 257 and 265 for mine, Connelp and HertzVanrRntal recommendations.
I've just bought a new brush, how should I break it in?
Its not unusual for a brush to have a bit of a pong about it when you first but it, especially boar and horse hair. It took me 2 weeks to get the horse smell out of my Vie Long brush (worth it though). HertzVanRental very helpfully posted this guide.
Amazing to get that stage within a such a short time scale! Ditch the Derby blade you started with and, if you've got a pack, try a Feather blade from your sample blades - no need to be scared, just be careful and it's the ultimate experience!! Also I've now got the Vulfix 404 brush that connelp recently highlighted and OMG it's brilliant! Get one for under a tenner and you won't regret it as it is almost as good as the brushes I have that are 8 to 10 times the price, but use this process to break in any brush:
a. Rub the brush in neat Fairy Liquid for a couple of minutes. Wash the brush out.
b. Leave the brush in a Fairy Liquid/Water solution for a few hours. Wash the brush out.
c. Lather the brush up in your favourite soap or cream (as you would do for a shave), then leave it with the soap/cream on the brush over night - this is where the magic happens. Wash the brush out the next day and it leave to dry; the smell of any new brush will be gone and the brush will be at its optimum for use. See comment 319 for original post
I will post some links in comments 6 for some helpful information. Again if people could like the comment so it goes to the front of the thread that would be great.
I'm sure I've missed loads out but thank you to all who have contributed and will continue to contribute. A special thanks to LizzieBear as well, for not only being a girl on a DE shaving thread but for running a very generous competition.
Top Comments (4)
(Cheap enough but decent quality and likely to be keepers)
Razor:
Merkur 45c Bakelite - £18 Delivered
Edwin Jagger DE89 - £20.80 Delivered - Full metal option rather than plastic
Merkur 34C - ~£30 A slightly more expensive Full metal razor, heavy and truly excellent
For the super cheap option pick up a Gillette Tech razor on eBay for ~£5-£8 and that will do fine also.
Brush:
Vulfix 404 - £12.60 Delivered
Blades:
Astra Superior Platinum - ~£8 (100 blades, that is roughly 300 shavesworth) Delivered
Soap:
Proraso - £5.10 Delivered (if bought at the same time as the razor at Connaught)
Taylor of Old Bond Street (TOBS) - Various scents - £7.00 Delivered
Palmolive cream and soap (Cheap option) ~ £0.50p - £1.50 from supermarkets or Wilkinsons.
Non-essential but useful or recommended (Links to product that people enjoy, maybe not best price):
Aftershave balm:
Proraso Pre/Post shave
Bluebeards revenge
Small bowl for lathering (any small bowl is usually fine, but here are bowls that are rated):
Suribachi Shaving Lather Bowl
If i have missed anything folks let me know and i will add it to the post :P
Edited By: Jetpac on Jan 26, 2013 22:41: update
I thought it might be interesting to reflect on the past 12 months, particularly if you're just starting out or are thinking about starting DE shaving.
For many years I shaved using Gillette disposables and a variety of canned goos. I used to shave five days a week and skip weekends.
I also used to use a razor five times before binning it (though I used two different disposables per shave). I did one pass down the grain, and one pass across the grain. If I was going for a close shave (which was rare) I did one against the grain instead of across.
The results? Well, they were reasonable but not good. Basically I hated shaving. I used to get a bad rash on my neck and on my upper lip. Thus I was convinced I had sensitive skin.
Then, and I can't remember how (though it must have been an article in a paper or on the web), I stumbled across shaving 'the old way'.
I ummed and aahed about it for a while. Mainly because the setup costs were going to be almost £90 for what I wanted (note for beginners - you don't need to spend anywhere near this figure to try it out) and I was a bit worried it wouldn't work for me and I'd have wasted my money.
Anyway, in the end I decided to take a leap of faith. My first kit was:
Merkur 38C
100 Derby blades
Bluebeards Revenge best badger brush
Mitchells Wool Fat soap
Alum block
Trumpers lime skin food
Having bought all the gear I watched all Mantic's videos on Youtube (a fantastic resource), then started in earnest during a holiday (when it wouldn't matter if I ruined my face!)
Mantic warns that you should only shave with the grain for the first few weeks, but then says "but you won't"! Ha ha, he certainly knows what he's on about.
Anyway, for the first week I only used the DE on my initial with the grain pass, and then used the disposable for my final across the grain pass. I remember being astounded at how much growth the DE took off on the first pass compared with the disposable.
Then, after about a week and a bit I (and against Mantic's advice!) I ditched the disposables and have never looked back!
It took a couple of weeks for my skin to get used to the DE, and several months to develop the muscle memory for how to hold the razor and improve my technique (I'm still improving it now!) I also had quite a few cuts (the worst was a nick to my upper lip, that made my eyes water!) though the alum really helped here (not as good as a styptic pencil though).
So, if I could go back a year, what would I say to myself?
Firstly, research, research, research!! I watched all Mantic's videos, but should also have signed up to a forum, read the posts and asked for advice.
Don't buy 100 Derby blades! I found them crap, though they may work for you. Instead get a sampler pack from Connaughts.
Buy a styptic pencil instead of an alum block. They are more effective at stopping cuts.
Blades are cheap, so don't drag as many shaves as possible out of them. A lot people use them around 3 times before ditching them (though you may find some blades last longer - for example Polsilvers and Bolzano both give me around 5 to 6 shaves but Gillette Super Stainless only give 3).
Don't buy Mitchells Wool Fat as your first soap! It's a challenge to lather, even for experienced shavers. I'd recommend a tube of Palmolive cream, and a Palmolive soap stick. Cheap, easily available and both yield excellent results.
You will tell yourself you are doing this to 'save money'. Unless you have an iron will, forget it. I started out with the above and now have over 40 razors, 11 brushes, enough blades for about 6 years, and enough soaps for about 2 decades! However, this is no bad thing! Why is that?
Well, if you have an appreciation of 'nice things' you will find old razors and brushes are wonderful. They are beautifully engineered and I personally really enjoy using something my grandfather or great grandfather could have used. It's testament to how well these items were made that we can still successfully use them when they are decades (and in some cases over a century) old.
Shaving also goes from being a chore that must be rushed through to a hobby that can be really enjoyed (for example, taking your pick of razor, soap and scent). It may sound a bit 'poncy' and doubtless isn't for everyone, but it's made a tangible improvement to me!
All Comments (1796)
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Mantic59's youtube channel Please watch these videos, they will teach you a lot and give you an idea of how shave and what to expect.
How to Prep for a shave known as Kyle's prep one of the best routine's in shaving. Doesn't have to be taken as law but a good starting point :)
Edited By: dolphinninja on Jan 27, 2013 18:10: Useful Links
Beard. You would be very brave to use a DE further down.
Edited By: New Born on May 27, 2012 20:52
Hopefully a slightly better pic.
What an unfortunate name.
I started with the 34c and feathers. Good combination but I've moved away from both. The 34 c gives me at least one weeper a shave and feathers leave my skin slightly irritated. I would recommend a vintage gillette. The Tech in particular are very mild and can be found on a certain auction site for £10-15 and give an excellent shave.
What you referring to? The only two things I can think of is the tip of the superspeed razor which is a red tip one, so thats just the razor handle.
Or the horse hair brush in the middle in which case thats just the colour of the cheapo plastic handle. Or are you asking about something completely different?
Allegedly.........
I was like that. I used to hate shaving. I used to shave in the shower. It used to give me bad spots and irritation. The cartridge razor refills were expensive and didn't last very long.
Now my shave is my 10 minutes of peace in the morning. Also if you look in my pic the slightly orange shaving brush was my Grandpa's. I like using it as it's one of two things I own of his and is very important to me.
I get it is only shaving but its gone from being a chore to a pleasure, my skin is better the shave is better and its a great start to the day.
What you referring to? The only two things I can think of is the tip of the superspeed razor which is a red tip one, so thats just the razor handle.
Or the horse hair brush in the middle in which case thats just the colour of the cheapo plastic handle. Or are you asking about something completely different?
Sorry, spell checker corrected wrong. I was refering to the stains on the actual table to the left of the blades Anyway, I have subbed too. I have gear like this and am interested that people are interested in this and curious.
Well join in and post some pics.
The stain is an ink spill. My desk is always a mess. It was a cheap table from a charity shop and its a good job to cos I've wrecked it. I treat my shaving stuff a lot better.